Practical Law

It is now unusual for any case to raise a truly novel point in the context of adjudication enforcement. Aqua Leisure International Ltd v Benchmark Leisure Ltd – a case about a waterpark in Scarborough – raises two.

The jurisprudence on the effect of termination on the recoverability of liquidated damages for delay has many things in common with the Terminator film franchise. First, both began ages ago and seem likely to run on and on forever. Second, the instalments in each are of variable quality and sometimes appear to have been produced … Continue reading The Terminator’s dilemma →

It is unusual for a court of first instance to decline to follow obiter dicta of the appellate courts. This tendency is particularly marked where that appellate court is the House of Lords, and even more so when the obiter dictum in question is not in direct conflict with any other statement of the law … Continue reading Burning a Bridge →

In Victory House General Partner Ltd, Re A company, Morgan J dismissed a petition to wind up Victory House, the employer under a building contract with RGB P&C Ltd, following its failure to pay a sum due to RGB pursuant to an adjudicator’s decision. The case is the most recent of a number of authorities … Continue reading Don’t wind me up →

The Court of Appeal’s decision in Graham Leslie v Farrar Construction Ltd concerned whether an employer could recover a £300,000 overpayment for build costs made to a contractor. While the principles the court applied are well-established and generally uncontroversial, the outcome – that the employer could not recover the overpayment – may be surprising to … Continue reading Employer couldn’t recover overpayments made to contractor →

Saga Cruises BDF Ltd v Fincantieri SpA is a recent decision of Ms Sara Cockerill QC sitting in the Commercial Court and concerning a contract to dry dock, repair and refurbish a cruise ship. It provides a welcome opportunity to revisit the principles governing a contractor’s entitlement to an extension of time for completion of … Continue reading Concurrent delay – the “Saga” continues →

Earlier this year, Akenhead J handed down judgment in Mears Ltd v Shoreline Housing Partnership Ltd, the last in a trilogy of cases of the same name dealing with, among other things, the nature and scope of estoppel by convention. The case makes essential reading for the construction practitioner, not least because of its discussion of the … Continue reading Estoppel by convention: a shield or a sword? →